The one-cook kitchen. A small, hard-to-clean bathroom. A garage too crowded for cars. Think hard enough, and you’ll probably find a quirk or two-or several-in your home’s floor plan. Bring these troubles to the drawing board when you design your next house. By tweaking a stock floor plan, you can eliminate problem spots before they’re built.

Look at how a new home can best serve your family. If you’re in for a lifestyle change-say, having children-visualize how a reorganized home can simplify your life. To help you get started, check out the following family scenarios.

Mom and dad with small children Many young families struggle to make the most out of tight floor plans. They want to create a safe environment for little ones, while accommodating their own busy lives. Here’s a room-by-room rundown.

Kitchen

Plenty of work space, including two sinks and nice spans of countertop, will help the cook (or two) make sure little mouths are fed.

An open kitchen/family room arrangement and windows facing the backyard will let you keep an eye on children during meal preparation and cleanup.

Make sure an island or peninsula separates the family room from the work core to help keep curious hands away from hot pots and pans and other kitchen dangers.

You’ll likely eat most of your meals in a breakfast or family room next to the kitchen. Make space there for a table and chairs; it is unsafe for children to perch on stools pulled up to an island.

Family room

Trading in a living room for a larger family room probably makes sense. Chances are, you’ll spend most of your time together in the more casual space.

Bedrooms

The closer your room is to the children’s, the better. You’ll want to be nearby to help them through the morning routine; they’ll want you nearby in case of bad dreams. Plan logical spots for beds and other furniture.

Remember valuable closet space.

Bathrooms

The family bath should have a lowside tub for bathing young children. Although it’s wise to plan a 36inch-high vanity for adults, 30 inches is more appropriate for children.

Mom and dad with teenagers

When the kids reach their teens, everything changes-meal times, privacy needs, and recreation space. These tips may help smooth the ride through the tough transition years.

Kitchen

Kids’ appetites aren’t curbed once they hit the teen years; if anything, you’ll need more kitchen work space, a large pantry, and an additional freezer.

Plenty of space eases the work of multiple cooks, especially if your children are taking over some cooking responsibilities.

Because it can be difficult to get together for mealtimes, an eating island or peninsula is the most convenient setup.

Family room

Keep the living room or plan a den so you have your own place to read and catch the news.

A recreation room gives the kids a place for rowdier fun.

Even if your children don’t cook, plan on a family room adjacent to the kitchen as a spot for them to hang out and update you on the day.

Bedrooms

The master bedroom doesn’t need to be as close to the others as when your children were young-stereoblasted rock music reverberating against your wall proves it. Site your bedroom at a different end, or floor, of the house, and treat it as a private retreat. You might even try to include a sitting area.

See that your children’s rooms provide suitable conditions for doing homework by setting aside space for a desk or planning built-ins. Also remember your kids will need room to store their worldly possessions, both in the form of display shelves and adequate closets. Many secondary bedrooms provide little closet space, so you may need to maximize what space there is with a closet organizer system.

Bathrooms

Plan two sinks in the family bath if you have more than two children.

A tub/shower combination or shower works best as kids get older.

A couple

Before kids, after kids, or no kids at all, couples have special needs too.

Kitchen

A small kitchen may serve you fine, considering you’re preparing smaller meals and not bumping into kids. But if you sometimes cook for guests or participate in a gourmet club, a large kitchen may better suit your entertaining needs. In that case, two sinks, large runs of countertop, and space for food storage is essential.

You may find a formal dining room more useful than other families, but for daily meals, still plan for an eat-in kitchen or breakfast room.

Family room

If you’ve owned homes before, you probably already know whether you are family-room-type folks. Entertainment centers and overstuffed chairs are at home here. But others may choose to invest their square-footage budget elsewhere.

Locate the family room near the kitchen for convenience.

Bedroom

Only one bedroom in the house is truly important-yours. Especially if you’re an empty nester, you may want to locate it on the home’s main floor. Be sure closet space is plentiful and that there’s space for your bedroom set.

Secondary bedrooms will likely become guest rooms. Double suites (master and guest) often work better than the standard arrangement of master and secondary bedrooms. The extra suite, equipped with a bath, will provide guests a comfortable space of their own. Because they only visit once in a while, try to plan zoned heating and cooling-so you can shut the unit off or turn the guest area’s thermostat down to save on energy.

Bathrooms

Equip the master bath with two sinks to best serve your needs during the morning routine.

If you enjoy a deep soak in the evening, count on a large tub. Or, if vou don’t like that form of bathing, you may simply want a shower-perhaps with two showerheads.

All families

Some planning issues apply to all family situations.

Working, sleeping, and living zones should be separate. Locate the often-noisy family room away from the bedrooms.

Square footage should be useful. Plan rooms spacious enough to handle furniture groupings, but not so large that you lose out on intimacy. Lofty foyers and expansive living rooms are classic space wasters.

Furniture arrangements must fit well into the plan. For example, make sure the master bedroom has wall space well-suited to a king- or queen-size bed and nightstands. See whether the family room includes a spot for the TV away from the glaring sun. And throughout the home, keep traffic paths from crossing through conversation areas.

Because so many of us need a place to organize paperwork and tap into the computer, a home office is a floor plan priority. Your work style dictates whether to incorporate the office into the center of the home or separate it from the activity. A kitchen desk area-equipped with a computer and storage files-may work out if you want to keep an eye on your kids. A more secluded office will serve you better if your job requires fewer disturbances. Also decide whether vour family will share one computer; if so, you may need to schedule time slots to give evervone a chance to use it. Otherwise, plan a separate computer spot for your children or mate.

It’s best to locate a laundry room close to where dirty clothes are generated. If you or vour children often come home dirty from work, school, or sports activities, put this room near the garage or back door. If this isn’t an issue, design a laundry space close to the bedrooms.

A garage with three bays works best for most families. Park the cars in two of the spaces; plan for storage or a workshop in the third. The garage should be near the kitchen to ease carrying groceries from the car. Also, work with the design so the garage is positioned at the side or the rear of the house. A flat garage door shouldn’t be the front facade’s dominant feature. Some fine points in a floor plan are easy to overlook. Study your plan for details, such as steps up and down between rooms, window and wall location, ceiling heights, and placement of electrical outlets.

A kitchen that steps down into a family room may seem harmless enough, but it means children and guests will take many spills through the years. Avoid such hazards.

If you’re unaccustomed to visualizing a blueprint in three dimensions, hire an architect or designer to walk you through the plan or plans you like best.

Most professionals who design modest-size homes for a living can provide "walk-through" consultatons for $100 or less.

Nobody likes searching high and low through ill-organized, one-sizefits-all closets. Storage that’s carefully tailored to your needs-ideally arrayed within a comfortable dressing room-makes a master suite just that much sweeter. Whether you’re a die-hard neat-freak or just looking to shave some time off morning and evening routines, here’s a trio of super closets loaded with ways to pamper yourself and your wardrobe.

High-Rise Built-Ins

Pinched for space? Maybe it’s right over your head. Here, combining two closets with the shallow attic above them created a dressing room that literally reaches for the rafters. Vaulting the ceiling made room for a third tier of hanging space for out-ofseason clothing, plus shelving for shoes, hats, and other items. Down below, the hisand-her closet has a mirrorimage arrangement with a drawer-lined peninsula dividing the two areas (left). In the background, a 6-foot-high three-way mirror lets the owners get in-the-round looks at themselves and makes the space seem bigger than it really is. Ties and belts are easy to find in carefully organized drawers (above).

Space-Savvy Corridor

Another good way to carve out space for a dressing room is to "borrow" from the bedroom. Located along an outer wall in the master suite, this dressing area joins a large walk-in closet with the master bath. The inside wall consists of built-in his-and-her bureaus and cabinets that stop short of the ceiling to promote cross ventilation into the sleeping area.

On the outer wall, the architect added two banks of shelves enclosed by clear plastic doors. Because everything can be seen at a glance, the owners don’t have to waste time rummaging around to find things. Between the shelving units, a window seat provides a comfy spot to put on socks and shoes.

One for Him, Two for Her

Special storage needs demand special solutions. When the owners of this new home decided to build, they knew they wanted his-and-her dressing rooms. But she also has a large collection of clothing from her native India, so they planned a third, cedar-lined closet off her everyday closet. Here, shelves hold silk saris, tops, and skirts, with special-occasion dresses and matching pants neatly aligned on hangers.

Tiers of drawers and cabinets (left) line the passage from the bath in the background to a walk-in closet behind the camera. Good lighting helps the owners mix and match color choices.

Clear plastic cabinet doors (below) keep shoes, luggage, and a cherished Korean chest on view but dust-free. A cushioned window seat has a bank of storage underneath.

Both dressing rooms have center islands that provide drawer storage and a place to fold clothes or pack a suitcase. The closet’s fixtures are covered in white laminate, and lighting that simulates daylight makes colors easy to see.

A well-designed garage does lots more than just bring cars in from the sun or snow. It can provide space for storage, plus maybe a shop, a studio, or other hobby area.

Architecturally, the best garage also brings a sense of "belonging"-serving as a visual companion to the house and looking as if it’s always been there.

This charming brick carriage house is our first case in point Several years ago, owners Laurie and David Davis converted their original attached two-car garage into a family room. To replace it, they built a detached garage that mimics their 1957 ranch in its arched openings, brickwork, and roof pitch.

Two decades ago, architectural designer Gary Salter started planning a Colonial-style house for his family. He created an authentic period design that fits nicely into historic Norwell, Massachusetts.

Green paneled doors and red brick siding (top) help the new garage blend into the neighborhood (above). The entry to the garage and its upper level (right) matches the home’s detailing.

When he drew up plans for the original house, there was no way to attach a garage because of the septic system’s location. So, for 20 years, the family got along without a garage.

"Finally we decided to do something," says Judy, Gary’s wife. Judy acted as the client, citing her needs and preferences, while Gary supplied the design know-how.

Their solution-the half Cape Cod "house" shown here-won an award in Better Homes and Gardens magazine’s 1996 Home Improvement Contest. Janis and Gary Hostetler’s new garage solves several problems at their stately Indianapolis home. It gets their cars off the street and makes room for the workshop Gary has always wanted. Best of all, the garage accommodates secluded outdoor living in a bustling downtown setting.

Architect Terry Bradbury strove to ensure the new structure’s proportions, hip roof, and trim echoed the classic Italianate detailing of Janis and Gary’s 120year-old home. A patio, topped with a classy pergola, links the house and garage.

From its arched doors to the cupola and weather vane up top, the new garage (right) mimics an 18thcentury relic.

For security reasons, the windows on the garage’s side (above) aren’t windows at all. They’re an ornamental arrangement of shutters and trim pointed to match the house.

From the front, the garage (below right) looks like a neighboring home. Both house and garage are set back from the road and blend into the wooded landscaping.

"I don’t feel like I’m downtown when I’m sitting out here," Janis says. "I feel like I’m in an outdoor living room."

The garage features a bonus room upstairs that could someday provide more living space. "We toyed with the idea of an apartment up there," Janis says, "but decided we didn’t want people living in our backyard."

This new garage belongs to a house with history-a cottage that was built in the mid-19th century and later moved to a wooded hillside site in Zionsville, Indiana.

Automotive access to the garage (above) is from a back alley. The garage’s raised-panel siding doesn’t copy that on the three-story house, but similar proportions, materials, and color schemes tie the two together.

The garage’s rear entry (above) opens to a patio with world-of -itsown privacy. Stairs inside lead to a room above.

You hardly realize this is the back of a garage (left). The garage’s windows mimic those on the back of the house.

The homeowner would have preferred the convenience of an attached garage, but property boundaries, hilly terrain, and mature trees ruled that out. Instead, she built a rustic "barn" that looks as if it’s been on the property for more than a century.

On the ground level, the garage accommodates the owner’s 1952 British roadster, the minivan she uses for everyday wheels, and an extensive collection of garden tools and supplies. An exterior stairway climbs to a loft that stores garden furniture and other seasonal items.

Matching stain color and roofing help the garage and house righ harmonize without looking exactly alike.

Placing the stairway outside (above) doesn’t take away from storage space inside the garage.

Outdoor furniture and Christmas decorations go up and down these stairs several times a year.

A deep overhang at the front of the garage (right) serves as a porch, complete with a tilt-top picnic table.

Wrought iron hinges and latches give the overhead garage doors the look of swinging born doors.

You may have been in this situation and escaped without incident, but not everyone does. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, 50 children in the United States died or suffered permanent brain injury between 1982 and 1992 as a result of accidents involving automatic garage door openers. Thousands of others suffer less-serious injuries every year. Make your garage door safer by putting it through these tests once a month.

Reversing test: Garage door openers manufactured after 1982 are likely to feature automatic reversing mechanisms that sense obstructions and send doors back up if they hit something while closing. To test the sensitivity of the mechanism, some manufacturers recommend placing a block of wood on the ground beneath the door. The door should reverse within two seconds of contact. Consumer advocates say that this test should instead be conducted with a large, unwrapped roll of paper towels which more accurately simulates the body of a small child. If your door doesn’t pass the reversing test, a knob on the motor housing will allow you to adjust the sensitivity until it passes. Garage door openers made after 1993 have even more sophisticated safety features. According to federal mandate, they must be equipped with pressuresensing reversing systems along with photoelectric sensors that prevent the doors from being activated if there are obstructions in their path. They may also be outfitted with switches that must be held down constantly to operate doors.

Balance test: For maximum safety, the door must also be properly balanced. To test this, disengage the electric operator and stand outside. Lift the door 3 or 4 feet off the ground, let go, and step away quickly. If the door drops to the ground, it is out of balance. Because balancing a garage door requires adjusting the tension on heavy-duty springs, it should always be done by a professional. The springs should also be attached to safety cables. In the event that a spring breaks, the cable will stop the spring from flying off and causing injury or death.

Equilibrium test: Finally, perform an equilibrium test. With the electric operator disengaged, watch and listen to your garage door as you raise and lower it. If it is hung properly, it will glide up and down smoothly without screeching or Littering. If it is lopsided, or not moving smoothly on its tracks, it should be adjusted by a professional. Not only will lopsided or improperly installed garage doors not function well, they’ll put undue stress on the electric motor, making it difficult to correctly adjust the reversing mechanism and causing a potential fire hazard.

Considerations for parents: Teach your children that the garage door is not a toy-no matter how much they like to push buttons. The National Safe Kids Campaign recommends that you teach your children to wait until the garage door stops moving before they enter or exit a garage. They also suggest locking a garage door’s remote control in your car’s glove compartment.

We can learn a lot from houses. Some teach us the finer pionts of home maintenance, while others beckon us to slow down and appreciate life. This home leans toward the latter. Built with charm and ease of mind, its classic Cape Cod design harbors plenty of ideas for your place, too.

Architect Paul Kreuger decided on the locally grown Cape Cod style for this summer home near Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The one-level design hugs the landscape, lending itself to an interior free of steps and other barriers-and ensuring the empty-nest owners will enjoy the home well into their retirement years.

Most Cape Cods feature tight rooms and low ceilings with upstairs attics. But this home boasts an open-beam design with little in the way of interior walls, creating wonderful volume.

Laid-back living dictated the arrangement of rooms. The kitchen, dining room, living room, and porch-where the homeowners spend the most time-enjoy the best views of the ocean. Ceilings measuring as high as 16 feet provide the roominess of a much larger home-without the cleaning responsibilities.

Although a couple of rooms have rugs, the entire home’s floor is oak-treated with polyurethane so water dripping from a bathing suit isn’t a problem. "And the wood is the color of sand," Kreuger points out, "so you don’t worry about every grain of sand that might be on the floor."

When winds outside howl, the living room-with its fireplace and shelves full of books- provides an always-cozy respite.

Sunshine sates the living room and adjoining spaces through a large, south-facing window. Because of the window’s height, you can see light filtering through the trees almost as if you were outside.

No four-walled kitchen and separate dining room for this family. The oll-in-one room lets everyone participate in good cooking and lively chatter.

Time away from the scrub brush and dust mop is spent in the living room enjoying a toasty fire on a cool day, or outdoors exploring a nearby wildlife sanctuary. Boating, fishing, and bird watching come easy in these parts.

By deciding early on what furniture pieces would go into each room, the architect and homeowners were able to cut down on unnecessary floor space. "Everything we put into the house is a useful item," Kreuger says. The 13xl4foot master bedroom, for instance, accommodates a queen-size bed plus the usual dressers and nightstands-but no more.

Beadboard paneling finishes the home’s walls, ceilingseven the kitchen’s built-in desk and island-for on informal vacation-house feel. Easy-care laminate counters are perfect for no-hassle deanups.

The centrally located dining area extends to a large deck outside..

A three-wing plan (left) with zoned heating allows the guest bedrooms to be shut off when not needed, saving on energy costs.

Just as much thought went into the room’s location. The master suite, which angles away from the living room, enjoys wonderful views and separation from the guest quarters.

Ease also extends outside, where the landscaping is completely maintenance-free. Because fresh water is precious here, indigenous birch trees, Russian sage, and fescue grass make up most of the plantings. The landscaping choices were never a question-most of us would also trade in the lawn mower for a fishing pole.